Wednesday, April 30, 2008

another swarm

yesterday we had another swarm from the second hive. it is my own fault i know what to do and how to prevent them. i'm not lazy just swamped. we boggled yesterdays attempt. today tabitha witnessed another incarnation of that swarm and it landed much lower. i pulled a similar move to the first successful capture. get the hive body directly under the swarm and knock them in--cover them quick. here they are in all their haphazardness.tabitha suggested that we name our hives so we know what to call them when talking about them. i suggested that we name them cool cities. paris, st. petersberg, london, ect... she said this one should be named emeryville;)

so now we have four hives. will we get any honey? i'm not sure but we have plenty of bees. the big issue is i don't have a proper suit. my mosquito net of a hood is near impossible to see out of. i have been stung several times. not that i really mind getting stung once in a while but it is very distracting when i am trying to accomplish hive improvements.

next week i'll get in there and tear into the hive mess.

after the swarm capture i tilled and amended more of the garden.we need to plant squash, pumpkins and cucumbers. planting tomatoes are queued for this weekend. the little tomato plants are looking really good.we'll need to trench and bury them to the very top again this year. the plants that we planted that way last year did the best.

tabitha coined a new phrase that were are using quite often around here. the phrase is "o'melay intensive." the definition will evolve but basically involves taking on too much and jumping in with both feet. the only difference between "o'melay intensive" and complete irresponsibility is, we are fast on our feet. tabitha is smart and informs herself amazingly quickly. i can build, make or brute force my way through most anything. is it frustrating but amazingly fulfilling.

the chicks are growing and looking healthy. we are expecting our second batch next week. i need to finish work on their chicken tractor and shore up the old one for the second batch. they will be out in the pasture soon.